Cosmo Metals (ASX:CMO) uncovers new gold potential through LiDAR survey at Nundle

Cosmo Metals (ASX:CMO) Managing Director Ian Prentice discusses the company’s latest LiDAR survey results and what they reveal about the scale, complexity and prospectivity of the Nundle Goldfield in New South Wales.

From uncovering over 1,100 historical workings to defining high priority targets like the Folly Line and Hanging Rock, the data is already reshaping the company’s understanding of this underexplored gold system.

What is the strategic significance of the LiDAR survey results for Cosmo?

The LiDAR survey has confirmed our understanding of the potential scale of the Nundle Goldfield within our project area and is already proving to be a highly strategic exploration tool.

Preliminary data from just 90 square kilometres of the 259 square kilometre survey has revealed more than 1,100 historic shafts and pits, confirming the extent of both hard rock and alluvial gold systems across our tenure.

From a strategic perspective, it allows us to combine historical mining and exploration records with the latest geological knowledge and high resolution digital terrain models for the first time.

This offers a far more accurate view of where previous mining occurred and where mineralised structures may continue under cover.

“It supports our view that Nundle has the scope to host major gold deposits similar to what we see elsewhere in the New England Orogen, it is significantly underexplored and that much of its historical production recorded at over 300,000 ounces of gold and 4.3 tonnes of antimony, likely understates the true scale of the system.”

This work goes beyond identifying old workings.

It creates a pathway to define modern, drillable targets in structurally prepared, geologically favourable settings that have never been systematically explored, with the ultimate goal of locating the source of the historical production.

Why is the Folly Line structural jog considered a high-priority target?

The Trevena Gap structural jog at the Folly Line is emerging as one of the most compelling targets within our New South Wales portfolio.

Its appeal lies in the combination of structural complexity, geochemical signature and historical evidence of high-grade gold mineralisation.

LiDAR interpretation has outlined a one kilometre long jog with sub-parallel lines of workings, intense carbonate, fuchsite and silica alteration, and historic rock chip assays up to 15.91 grams per tonne gold.

This type of alteration and geochemistry is strongly associated with the upper levels of epizonal orogenic gold systems and is consistent with major deposits globally.

“No deeper or follow up drilling was ever completed. It’s an open system, hosted in reactive lithologies adjacent to the Peel Fault, and with excellent indications that we may be sitting at the top of the mineralised system.”

A historic RC hole (NGPD2) drilled in the 1990s intersected five metres at 5.86 grams per tonne gold from 51 metres, including one metre at 17.3 grams per tonne, and the hole finished in mineralisation.

These are strong signals that the system remains open and underexplored, making it a priority drill target.

What makes the Hanging Rock area so prospective despite limited modern exploration?

Hanging Rock is a prime example of a forgotten goldfield with substantial modern potential.

Despite more than 550 shafts and pits, 31 deep lead pits and over 10 kilometres of alluvial workings, it has seen virtually no modern, systematic exploration.

Our ongoing data verification reveals little to no known drill holes and only minimal recent rock chip sampling.

LiDAR has now confirmed the presence and extent of the lode systems.

We have mapped at least 6.7 kilometres of strike situated at a key structural intersection between the Peel Fault and a major west-northwest trending fault.

Nearby chemically reactive rocks and the Mt Ephraim granodiorite create a geological environment capable of hosting lode-style and bulk tonnage deposits.

“This is exactly the kind of system where modern exploration can unlock a major discovery.”

The presence of boulder sized vein fragments in deep leads suggests a nearby hard rock source, likely associated with the very lodes we are now tracing.

How do these results fit into Cosmo’s broader New South Wales exploration strategy?

These results directly support our district-scale approach to targeting major mineralised systems within the New England Orogen.

Our strategy is focused on historically productive, but underexplored regions like Bingara and Nundle.

These areas saw high-grade discoveries of gold, antimony and copper more than a century ago but have not been revisited using modern exploration tools.

The Nundle LiDAR data gives us a precise, high-resolution map of mineralised structures, allowing for more efficient and cost effective targeting.

By integrating this data with historic geochemistry and current mapping, we are building a modern geological framework across a region that has remained untouched since the early 1900s.

“So while others are still looking for greenfields plays, we’re leveraging known mineralised systems and applying the latest geological understanding and exploration techniques to generate high-confidence large scale targets.”

This gives us a clear technical and strategic advantage as we move toward drilling.

When can the market expect the next major milestone?

We are progressing rapidly.

Immediate efforts are focused on ground truthing mapped lodes and structural targets, starting with the high priority Trevena Gap zone and the extensive Hanging Rock area.

This includes field validation, surface sampling and identification of drill-accessible sites.

We are also awaiting the remainder of the LiDAR dataset, which covers 169 square kilometres and includes high conviction copper targets at Barnard Hut and Back Barb.

We expect this data to significantly grow our pipeline of exploration targets.

The next major milestone will be the definition of drill ready targets at both the Folly Line and Hanging Rock.

We anticipate reaching this within the next quarter, paving the way for future drilling and providing shareholders with a clear, data-backed path to discovery.

Next Steps: A Clear Path to Drilling

Cosmo Metals is entering an active phase of exploration at Nundle.

With LiDAR now revealing extensive mineralised systems and strategic field validation underway, the company is aiming to generate drill ready targets in the near term.

Focused on areas with known high-grade gold potential but limited modern testing, Cosmo is working to unlock discoveries from systems that have remained dormant for more than a century.

Please note the following valuable information before using this website. 

Independent Research 

Market Open Australia is intended to be used only for educational and informative purposes, and any information on this website should not be taken as investment advice or guidance. It is important to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions, which should be based on your own investment needs and personal circumstances. Any investment decisions based on information contained on this website should be taken in line with independent financial advice from a qualified professional or should be independently researched and verified.